Symposium

Friday, October 10, 2014

Pakistan Nabs Militants Linked To Attack On Malala

Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old girl from Pakistan who was shot in the
head by the Taliban last October for advocating education for girls,
speaks about her fight for girls' education on the International Day of
the Girl at the World Bank in Washington. Pakistan's army announced
Friday, Sept. 12, 2014, that it had arrested 10 militants suspected of
involvement in the 2012 attack on teenage activist Malala, who won world
acclaim after she was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating
gender equality and education for women.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's army said Friday that it
has arrested 10 militants suspected of involvement in the 2012 attack on
teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who won world acclaim after she was
shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating gender equality and
education for women.

Army spokesman Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said the
detained men attacked Yousafzai, then 15, on orders from Mullah
Fazlullah, the head of the Pakistani Taliban. The army is currently
waging a major offensive against the extremist group in North
Waziristan, a tribal region along the border with Afghanistan that has
long been a militant stronghold.

"The entire gang involved in the murder attempt... has been busted,"
Bajwa said, adding that the "terrorists" were part of Tehrik-e-Taliban,
an umbrella group encompassing militant organizations across the tribal
areas.

Malala, a precocious teenage activist who had
called for expanding girls' education in deeply conservative areas of
Pakistan, was shot in the head in October 2012 while returning from
school. Two other girls were also wounded in the attack.

Malala was initially treated in Pakistan, but was
later flown to a hospital in Britain, where she now lives with her
family. "This is good news for our family and most importantly, for the
people of Pakistan and the civilized world. This first step of
apprehending Malala's attackers signifies the beginning of real hope for
the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been affected by
terrorism," Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, said in a statement.

Malala is from the northwestern Swat Valley, once
home to Fazlullah, who was elevated to his current leadership position
after his predecessor, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a U.S. drone
strike in North Waziristan.

Fazlullah has been on the run since 2009, when
Pakistan launched a major offensive in the Swat Valley to eliminate
militants who were trying to overthrow the government and impose a harsh
version of Islamic law. Islamic extremists believe women should largely
confine themselves to the home, and view girls' education as a sinister
Western import.

Pakistan believes Fazlullah is hiding in
Afghanistan, and Bajwa said Islamabad had raised the issue with the
Afghan government. Both countries have long accused each other of
ignoring militants who launch cross-border attacks from their territory.

"We will continue our efforts until (Fazlullah) is
arrested or killed," Bajwa told a televised news conference in the
garrison city of Rawalpindi. He did not say when or where the men were
captured, but said security agencies detained all 10 in a coordinated
operation acting on information from one of the members of the cell. He
said the head of the cell had also been arrested.

"The group acted upon the instructions of Mullah
Fazlullah who, while based in Kunar, Afghanistan, passed instructions
through his two associates," he said. He added that it was a "known
fact" that Fazlullah and other "terrorists" are hiding in Afghanistan.

The arrests come at a time when Pakistan's military
is carrying out a major operation against militants in North
Waziristan. Pakistan launched the June 15 operation after militants
attacked one of the country's busiest airports, in the southern city of
Karachi, shocking the nation.

The military says it has so far killed at least 975 militants and that the operation is progressing as planned.

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE AMBROSE EHIRIM-CHIKA UNIGWE INTERVIEW

Every writer has to be able to live in the head of her characters. I had to make myself a blank blackboard for the characters to inscribe their lives on me. I had to wipe off that board every time a new character had to be created and totally surrender myself to that new character.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: THE SYLVESTER MENSAH STORY

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: DR. APOLLOS NWAUWA

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: OZO'S KENI SAINT GEORGE

It was indeed a very boisterous, purpose driven, well-to-do Royal family. I come from a lineage of Royals and a well groomed family unit. My Father, Chief George Ozuloke, was a Court Judge for all of 18 years. He was both a Christian and Animist. He had 7 wives of which my mother was the first. I went to St. Martins Primary School and later to a wonderful School – Abbot Secondary Grammar School in Ihiala, my town. I even did a stint in Ihiala Seminary trying to be a Catholic Priest

FROM THE ARCHIVES: INTERVIEW: JULIUS KPADUWA

The problems that confront Imo State are really not unique. It is the same problem that confronts almost every state in Nigeria, and it's one of economic development. The primary thing or my clear vision for the people of Imo State will be getting all the able-bodied men and women back to work, so that we can begin to have the quality of life that has so far eluded the people of Imo State.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE OTOKOTO SAGA INTERVIEW

Earlier this year, in January, it was reported in the country’s dailies that your father and six others had been condemned to death. Those condemned with your father were: Alban Ajaegbu, Sampson Nnamito, Ebenezer Egwuekwe, Rufus Anyanwu, Lawrence Eboh, and Chief Leonard Unogu. How is your dad related to the names I have mentioned?

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Where We Met

But seeing a Nigeria headline on my screen it then occurred to him I must either be a Nigerian or perhaps a curious minded fellow who is reading to find out about the notorious Boko Haram, if they have captured more of their victims, or if there's an ongoing battle between the insurgents and the nation's security forces. Elevating my head up and starring at each other, I told him I was Igbo

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About Me

Ambrose Ehirim is a blogger, a writer, a photo-journalist, a volunteer and teacher. He has published articles and essays in African Times, African Watch, Pace News, Los Angeles Weekly, Life & Time Magazine, Kilima, American Chronicle, Long Beach Sentinel, Reuters and many other publications. He was former editor of New Life and West Coast Bureau Chief at the BNW Magazine. An Anti-Igbo Pogrom scholar and researcher, and currently working on and researching the 'Eastside Groups and Bands' Vintage Years.'

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